1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to x-ray imaging systems and to x-ray sensors for use in such systems.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Presently, large area imaging devices require highly parallel readout architectures in order to provide real-time frame rates and reduced image readout noise. However, parallel readout architectures commonly employ horizontal and vertical clocks and output shift registers that require non-imaging area on the imaging array surface.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,752 to Bixby discloses methods and apparatus for readout of an area image sensor at greatly increased frame rates by the formatting of the sensor into blocks of photosite rows and by modifying the method of sensor readout in a manner compatible with such format.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,796 to Anagnostopoulos discloses a conventional area image sensor of the interline transfer type that is configured to be readable in blocks of adjacent photosite rows thereby enabling the modified sensor to be read out at fast frame rates.
For large-area x-ray imaging applications it would be highly desirable to produce imaging arrays that have no contiguous non-imaging areas.